Installation
Installing Northglow yourself
The whole job is a drill, a level, a tape measure and a weekend on a ladder. Watch it done once, read what it actually involves, then decide whether it is a weekend you want. If it is not, that is a fine answer too.
Be honest with yourself about this part
- You will be on a ladder at roofline height for most of a weekend. If that is not something you are comfortable doing, this is the wrong product for you and you should hire it out. Nobody has ever regretted that call.
- Two people is much easier than one. One on the ladder, one feeding channel and holding the level. Alone is possible and slow.
- Budget a weekend for a typical 150 to 250 ft house. More if your elevation has dormers, multiple peaks, or awkward ladder ground.
- You need an exterior outlet within reach of where the run ends. If you do not have one, adding it is an electrician's hour and worth doing properly.
What you need
No specialist tools. If you have hung a shelf and owned a ladder, you have most of this already.
You supply
- Cordless drill and driver bits
- Tape measure
- Level, or a chalk line for long runs
- Extension ladder rated for your roofline
- Pencil or marker
- Exterior-grade screws to suit your fascia — check your kit packing list
- A second pair of hands
In the box
- Point lights on 8 in centers, IP68 silicone potted
- Powder-coated 6063 aluminum channel in 3.3 ft sections
- Wi-Fi controller and power supply sized to your run
- Connectors and jumpers
- T-injection taps and Y-splitters
- A second controller and supply on runs over 300 ft
The job, step by step
Read all the way through before you start. Step one is the one people rush and regret.
Measure the run, then add ten percent
Measure the rooflines you actually want lit, edge to edge. Add about 10% for corners, gable peaks and the drop back to your outlet, then round up to the next size we sell.
Leftover channel is far easier to live with than coming up eight feet short on the last gable, with a two week wait to finish the job.
Confirm your voltage before you order
At 150 ft and under, 12V and 24V both work. Over 150 ft, choose 24V — it draws half the current for the same output, so brightness holds to the end of the run and you need fewer injection points.
Write your voltage down somewhere you will find it in three years. Extensions and replacement sections have to match.
Snap a line and dry-fit the first sections
Work out where the channel sits — under the eave, on the fascia, or along the trim — and mark a level line the whole way. A chalk line beats eyeballing it over any distance longer than one section.
Lay two or three sections up against the line before you drive a single screw. This is where you find out that your fascia is not as straight as it looks.
Mount the channel
Each 3.3 ft section has five pre-drilled holes, which is enough that it lands on rafter tails and solid trim without much fuss. Screw through the pre-drilled holes into fascia, soffit or trim.
Work in one direction along the line, checking level every few sections rather than every section. Butt the sections tight so the light spacing stays even across the joins.
Seat the lights and run the connections
The lights seat into the mounted channel on 8 in centers. Work along the run, keeping the wire tucked into the channel behind them as you go.
Use the jumpers to cross corners and gaps, and the T-injection taps and Y-splitters to get power and signal where they need to be. Keep every connection inside the channel or tucked under the eave where weather cannot sit on it.
Power up and set your scenes
Bring the run back to the power supply and plug into your exterior outlet. One controller drives up to 300 ft across two channels; over 300 ft your kit ships with a second controller and supply.
Connect the controller to your Wi-Fi and set your first scene. Warm white at 3000K is what most people leave it on for eleven months of the year.
Safety and the small print
Ladder work is the real risk here, not the electricity. Set the ladder on level ground, keep three points of contact, never lean past your belt buckle, and move the ladder rather than stretching. Do not work in wind or on wet ground. If your elevation needs a ladder position you are not confident in, stop and hire that part out.
The system runs on low voltage from a standard 120V outlet and needs no hardwiring. If your run has no outlet in reach, have a licensed electrician add one. Do not run extension cords permanently, and do not open the power supply.
Check your voltage before connecting anything. Connecting 12V lights to a 24V supply destroys the run and is not covered by the warranty.
This guide is general and your house is not. It is not a substitute for local building or electrical code, and it does not replace the instructions in your kit. If the two disagree, follow the kit.
Ready, or rather not?
Both are good answers. Send us a photo of your elevation and we will measure it by hand and tell you exactly what to order.